Stir-Fried Garlic Lettuce

One of the most beautiful and inspired cookbooks of the year was The Breath of a Wok. Grace Young's stories and recipes make us want to set off in pursuit of wok hay, the special taste of wok-cooked food. But if the wok itself is too much to tackle, Young gives us permission to stir-fry in a skillet, as her parents did when they emigrated from China to San Francisco.... Young tells us that the Cantonese word for lettuce sounds like the words for "growing fortune," which makes this an auspicious dish to serve for the lunar New Year.

Preparation

Combine the rice wine or sherry, soy sauce, sugar, and salt in a small bowl.

Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok over high heat until a bead of water vaporizes within 1 to 2 seconds of contact. Swirl in the vegetable oil, add the garlic, and stir-fry for 5 seconds. Add the lettuce and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes, or until it is just limp. Stir the sauce, swirl it into the wok, and stir-fry for 30 seconds to 1 minute more, or until the lettuce is just tender and still bright green. Remove from the heat, drizzle on the sesame oil, and serve.

Note: Use roasted or toasted sesame oil, not the neutral-tasting cold-pressed oil, and definitely not the hot, spicy version. Choose one made from pure roasted sesame seeds and not blended with other oils. Young recommends the Kadoya brand. Sesame oil should be stored in the refrigerator, where it will keep for up to 1 year.

Quick and satisfying. This is a lovely way to eat lettuce in the winter. If you are a Chinese cooking fan, you will already have the sauces on hand. All you need is a bag of romaine hearts in the fridge. Cooks up in no time and is warm and flavorful. A nice healthy meal with a piece of chicken or fish by the side.

I will definitely be making this again! Followed it exactly, and it came out just right. I did an extra table-spoon of sesame oil, and you could probably add some sesame seeds to decoration, but overall this was a winner.